Keeping Cupid Busy
by J'aime Manga
Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo loses his patience and tries to solve things his own way? Chapter RE-WRITTEN, AU
1. Disappointing Interview

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo loses his patience and tries to solve things his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others.**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy**

by

J'aime Manga

**Chapter 1 – Disappointing Interview**

Not for the first time did Ichigo think that he just should have stormed the Kuchiki mansion, thrown Rukia over his shoulder like a Viking barbarian and threatened to use his bankai on anyone foolish enough to try and stop him. It would have saved him a lot of time and embarrassment. However, Rukia had pleaded with him to formally ask her brother for her hand in marriage. He was sure it wouldn't work but had agreed to try it her way. He burned with embarrassment as he thought of the disastrous end of the interview.

"_What makes you think that I would ever consent to allow Rukia to marry you? You have no manners, no social standing and are a barbarian. You aren't good enough for her. You aren't even a proper shinigami. As a noblewoman and clan princess she must marry a nobleman otherwise it will bring dishonor on the Kuchiki family. Please leave or I will have you forcibly removed."_

He had been so mad that he had stalked out of the mansion without another word after sending Rukia a look that plainly said, "I told you so."

It was only later that Ichigo had remembered that Rukia and her sister had originally come from the Rukongai district and were hardly noblewomen by birth. How dare Byakuya act so high and mighty? Ichigo wondered if Byakuya was getting back at him for beating him during their fight when he had saved Rukia from execution.

Rukia found him in the 13th Division's squad room still steaming about the confrontation with Byakuya. Ukitake-taichou had happily agreed to house the Shinigami-daichou during his stay in the Seireitei following a raid on Hueco Mundo.

"Ichigo, I..."

"Don't even say it," Ichigo said bitterly. "Byakuya is a high and mighty, pompous asshole. He loves to humiliate me. I would just love to wipe that pompous look right off his face with my Getsuga Tenshou!"

Rukia clenched her fists fired right back, "Ichigo, Nii-sama is not pompous and I won't have you call him that."

Ichigo grew red in the face and began yelling, "How can you defend him after what he said? He hates me and wouldn't agree to our marriage even if I was a nobleman of the highest family in the Seireitei."

Rukia made a deliberate effort to calm down knowing that Ichigo's pride had been hurt badly and he was very frustrated. She didn't trust herself to speak calmly yet so she closed her eyes and just kept silent.

Ichigo noticed that Rukia wasn't speaking and suddenly realized just how stupid and childish he must have sounded. He was actually secretly insecure about the fact that Rukia had been trained to be refined and gentile As much as he wished that it was otherwise Byakuya might have a point about the fact that he wasn't suited for the world of polite society. He was much more suited for the heat of battle.

Ichigo said in a petulant tone that served to cover up his secret fear, "Maybe he's right. Maybe you would be better off with someone who is more refined and is a proper shinigami officer who wouldn't embarrass you or the Kuchiki family."

Rukia opened her eyes quickly and smacked him hard on the back of his head. "How dare you! Do you really think I'm so shallow that I only care about appearances? I fell in love with you Kurosaki Ichigo, warts and all, so stop sulking and listen to me."

Ichigo turned toward her silently with his arms crossed and his famous scowl on his face, but feeling a little bit better.

"I'm very sorry for what Nii-sama said to you. I know it hurt you and what he said wasn't fair. He is overly protective, but I don't think he actually hates you."

Ichigo interrupted, "You could have fooled me!"

"Shut up and just listen. Nii-sama respects your fighting ability and your loyalty to those people you care about. He has never told me exactly what you said to him after your battle, but he did say you had made him rethink his position. As Captain Unohana was healing him he looked over toward you and said very quietly, 'Thank you, Kurosaki.'" He just doesn't know you very well. Despite the fact that he is cold you both share some of the same traits. You are both fierce fighters and do not stop fighting to protect the people you love. You both have a highly developed sense of honor and fair play."

Rukia got a mischievous gleam in her eye, "Unfortunately you are also both stubborn and unwilling to consider anyone else's point of view when you are convinced you are right."

Ichigo was all set to yell at her when he realized the truth in what she was saying and began to calm down. He said in a quieter voice, "That may be true, but that doesn't help us now. He has flatly refused to accept my suit. I don't see any way around that short of kidnapping you, marrying you in the real world and hiding for the rest of our lives."

Rukia relented and reached up and stroked his cheek tenderly, "You don't know Nii-sama as I do. Don't despair, I'll work on him in private. As I said before, I love you and that will never change. You have many qualities that people who are of noble birth do not have. You have earned everything through hard work and sacrifice for others which many of those born to privilege will never understand. You also don't look down on me for having come from the Rukongai which will always make me less desirable in the eye of noble suitors. I promise you that if we can't change his mind, I will run away with you. I have no intention of marrying anyone else."

Ichigo gently ran his fingers through her silky black hair. "Rukia, you mean the world to me. If your noble suitors look down on you for where you come from then they don't deserve you. I would be happy to introduce them to my bankai."

They both laughed at the thought.

He hugged her and said, "Seriously though, I don't want you to sacrifice the life that you have here. As much as I hate to agree with Byakuya I know I can't give you what you deserve if we are on the run."

Rukia touched his lips with her finger to stop him from talking and then gently kissed him. "We will find a way. Please just be patient."

Ichigo said, "Thank you. He made me feel like I was worthless and it embarrassed me, but you have made me feel so much better. I love you with all my heart, Rukia."

Ichigo traced the soft skin on her cheek and barely touched her soft lips with his thumb. She reached up and drew him into a kiss that began gently and became deeper and more insistent.

They were interrupted by a slight cough. They broke apart quickly to find Ukitake-taichou standing behind them with a slightly amused expression on his face. "This might not be the best place for that. You can be seen all too easily from the barracks."

Both Ichigo and Rukia blushed and began to stammer.

Ukitake held up his hand. "You don't need to be embarrassed. I have no problem with how you obviously feel about each other, but knowing Byakuya-kun, I'm sure that he would be horrified that you were engaging in this kind of behavior before you were properly betrothed."

Ichigo said angrily, "I tried to ask him properly, but he insulted me and refused to allow me to marry Rukia because I'm not good enough for her."

Ukitake smiled, "Don't give up just yet. Byakuya-kun admires persistence as a proof that you are serious in your commitment. There are many of us who know how you feel about each other and want to help. I'm sure if we all work together we can come up with a plan to change his mind."

Rukia smiled gratefully, "Thank you, Taichou."

He smiled back at Rukia, "Don't worry we'll think of something."

He then pointed his finger at Ichigo, "And you make sure that you keep a cool head and don't antagonize him. Better yet, stay far away from him."

Ichigo sighed, "How am I supposed to do that?"

Ukitake smiled and said dryly, "Maybe you should practice your fighting skills and leave everything to us. You certainly need to learn how to control your reiatsu and to learn to use kidou properly. I will arrange for you to work with special tutors while we work on Byakuya."

Ichigo groaned, "Just what I need during my summer vacation, more schooling."

Everyone laughed at that.

Ukitake said, "Now just make sure that if you want to engage in signs of affection that you do it more discreetly from now on."

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**JM: This is the end of chapter one. Thank you for reading I hoped you enjoyed it. It is my first attempt at a fanfic. In the next chapter Ichigo takes entrance test for the Academy and Ukitake tells him about his advanced training sessions. I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine.**


	2. Academy Testing

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo snaps and tries to solve it his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy** by J'aime Manga

**Chapter 2 – Academy Testing**

Next morning Ukitake approached Ichigo and said, "I have arranged for you to enroll as a student in the basic kidou class during the summer session at the Academy and because it is a summer class it will be accelerated."

Ichigo said, "Don't you have to take tests to be accepted into the Academy?"

Ukitake said, "You will be tested later this morning, but it will be merely a formality since everyone knows of your skills from the war."

Ichigo asked, "How will I pay for the kidou class?"

Ukitake smiled, "You will be doing work/study to earn your tuition."

Ichigo looked confused, "Work/study?"

Ukitake laughed, "Yes. We could make you a scholarship student, but since you are beyond the basics in the other areas of combat, you will become a teacher's assistant instead. The former assistant was just fired for bullying the students and the teachers need help."

Ichigo said, "I really appreciate this chance Ukitake-san, but I learned my basics under unorthodox teachers. I don't know how they teach the combat skills at the Academy."

"Don't worry," said Ukitake, "you will be given the basic theory textbooks to see what the students are learning. I know you are a quick learner, so you shouldn't have any trouble keeping ahead of the students. In addition you will be learning advanced techniques in all areas from various teachers."

"Do I know them?" asked Ichigo.

"Soi Fong-taichou will work with you in the late afternoon at the Division 2 training ground on hakuda (hand-to-hand combat) and long distance hohou (flash step). Yoruichi-san will work with you on advanced kidou and formal etiquette and military courtesy. You will have to make arrangements with her as to when and where that will take place. Kyouraku-taichou and I will work with you on advanced zanjutsu in the 13th Division training grounds on weekends."

Ichigo objected, "But I already train with Zangetsu on a regular basis."

"Working with your zanpakutoh is certainly beneficial to strengthen your bond and ability to work as a team, but we will be teaching you how to read your opponent's weaknesses so that you can work out the best attacks. You are incredibly strong and a formidable instinctive fighter, but a smart opponent could predict your attacks and counter them. We will teach you how to turn the tables on them and make you less predictable."

"I never thought about that. Maybe that is why it was so hard to beat Grimmjow. I had fought him twice before and he knew my moves."

"Last, but not least, in the evenings you will be studying medical kidou and how to control your reiatsu with Unohana-taichou and Yamada Hanataro. Even though you have personal healing powers from your inner hollow, medical kidou can save lives if you could begin healing fallen comrades before the Division 4 people can get there."

Ichigo laughed, "Do I get any time to sleep?"

Ukitake grinned, "Only if you do it quickly. Seriously, it sounds worse than it actually is. When you are through, you will be a much more well-rounded Shinigami and improve your chances of eventually becoming part of the Gotei officer corps."

After breakfast Ukitake gave Ichigo a student's uniform and when he had changed walked him over to the examination room at the Academy. Screening for the summer session for all incoming students was taking place so Ichigo waited patiently to be called.

While they were waiting Ukitake said, "Just remember, two of the things that you will be learning are to address teachers and military officers with the proper titles of respect and obedience to orders or commands. I know that you love to tease Hitsugaya-taichou by calling him Toushiro, but he is a taichou none the less and you will address him as such. You are a subordinate and as young as he looks he is actually older than you and has earned the title of taichou."

Ichigo smiled, "Hai, Ukitake-taichou."

Ukitake rolled his eyes and said, "I will not be going into the examination room with you, but after you are through I will introduce you to your teachers."

At that moment the examination room door opened and Ichigo's name was called.

Ukitake said, "Good luck, Ichigo-kun."

Ichigo entered and noticed that there were three examiners seated at a table and one who stood ready to interact with the student.

The chief examiner introduced his fellow examiners and said, "Kurosaki-san, let's begin with hakuda. Please take a ready stance with Adouma-sensei.

Ichigo didn't know what the ready stance was, but dropped into a beginning stance for karate. Adouma-sensei began with basic moves which morphed into advanced moves when Ichigo successfully blocked all of his basic punches and kicks.

Adouma smiled and thought, "Alright kid, let's see what you've really got."

He quickly discovered that Ichigo was very accomplished. They began exchanging combat level moves. Without thinking about it Ichigo was using middle to high level hohou to try to gain an advantage, but found that he and the instructor were pretty even in ability. Finally the instructor caught him slightly off-balance and threw and and pinned him.

As Adouma helped him to his feet he said, "Kurosaki-san, you are good but I don't recognize some of those moves."

Ichigo smiled, "I've never taken hakuda, but I did study karate for fifteen years in the real world."

The chief examiner said, "Alright let's move on. Kurosaki, please choose a blank zanpakutoh from the ones in the box and take a ready stance."

Even though none of them were heavy enough compared to Zangetsu, Ichigo found one that gave him the reach he wanted. This time Ichigo dominated the sparring match right from the beginning. When they exchanged blows it was Adouma who was pushed back. As the pace picked up Ichigo was out maneuvering the instructor. Finally he completely disappeared from Adouma's view and the next second re-appeared holding the zanpakutoh to the instructor's throat. The instructor signaled defeat.

"Your sword skills are at the master level. I'm not sure that we could teach you very much. I would love to meet your instructor some time."

Ichigo smiled, "You would have to travel to the real world then. Urahara Kisuke-san and Shihōin Yoruichi-sama over saw my training in addition to sparring with my zanpakutoh Zangetsu."

Adouma smiled, "That explains why you are so good at hohou. Yoruichi-sama is known as the Goddess of Flash. I see Yoruichi-sama occasionally. I will definitely have a talk with her about you."

The chief examiner said, "Since you have demonstrated your mastery of the short distance flash step in your last two tests, I only need to ask you if you would demonstrate long distance flash step."

Ichigo said, "I haven't learned long distance flash step yet."

The chief examiner said dryly, "It's good to know that there is still something you need to learn. I see from your entrance paper that you haven't studied kidou at all. I won't make you demonstrate any, but I do want to test your spirit level."

Ichigo started to say, "Sensei, I have a lot of spirit energy and it might be dangerous."

The chief examiner said, "Young man we test candidates for captain level training. You don't need to worry about it."

Ichigo was dubious but followed orders. He closed his eyes and began to raise his spirit energy level. Soon the examiners became uncomfortable, then felt the crushing weight of his reiatsu pushing them toward the floor and making their breathing difficult. Before they passed out the chief examiner rasped out, "Enough! Enough!"

When they could breathe again the chief examiner asked, "How much higher is your limit? You don't even seem to be winded."

Ichigo said, "I don't think it's ever been measured. Urahara-san said that he wasn't willing to find out. I do know that before the Winter War when I fought Grimmjow, the 6th Espada we were pretty well matched and I struggled with Ulquiorra, the 4th Espada the first time we fought. It has gotten stronger since then."

The chief examiner's eyes got bigger, "Wait, are you the Shinigami-daichou that rescued Kuchiki Rukia-san and fought in the Winter War?"

Ichigo nodded, "Hai, sensei."

"No wonder your abilities are so high. But aren't you still alive in the real world?"

"Hai, sensei."

"How can you be shinigami then if you aren't dead yet?"

"I have no idea, but you might want to ask Urahara-san. I think he knows even if he won't tell me."

"Tell me, is there anything you can't do besides kidou and long range shunpo?"

"I can't sing." Ichigo smiled, "My friends and family have made me swear that I will never sing in their presence. Abarai fuku-taichou teases me by insisting that we would have won the Winter War in about 20 seconds if they had set up speakers around Las Noches and had me sing. He figures that Aizen and his Espada would have surrendered immediately just to get me to stop."

All three examiners and Adouma-sensei cracked up over that image.

"Adouma-san would you call Ukitake-taichou in here and escort Kurosaki-kun out. He is now officially enrolled at the Academy provided he doesn't sing."

Ichigo laughed as he bowed, "I promise I won't, thank you sensei."

As they passed each other Ukitake asked Ichigo to wait for him.

The chief examiner said, "He is so very skilled in the other areas of combat, why does he even need kidou?"

Ukitake said, "He doesn't know it, but he is on the short list for receiving a captaincy. To be eligible he needs to demonstrate basic kidou skills at least. Since he is here this summer to assist in the clean-up operations in Hueco Mundo, I thought he could get his basic kidou requirement out of the way at the same time."

"We couldn't properly test his spirit energy level. He hadn't even broken a sweat much less passed out when we had to stop him because we couldn't breathe. He is beyond captain level."

"He has always had a high level of spirit energy as well as latent shinigami powers of his own. It has grown exponentially since he has become a shinigami. I suspect only the Sou-taichou and possibly Aizen could have caused him to reach the upper end of his power."

"How old is he?"

"He is 20 years old."

"I asked him how can he even be a shinigami, but he didn't know. Isn't he alive in the real world?"

"You'll have to ask Urahara Kisuke-san or Yoruichi-sama. I don't know the answer to that. Now if you will excuse me, I need to introduce Ichigo-kun to his instructors. In addition to attending the kidou class he will be assisting in the other basic classes as a teacher's aide so that he can pay for his kidou class."

"I don't think that the Academy will ever be the same once he begins classes."

Ukitake smiled, "I think that exploring new ways of doing things is good to keep the Academy from becoming too hide-bound."

Ukitake bowed and left to join Ichigo in the waiting room.

Ukitake took Ichigo around to meet the various teachers. The teachers who would be receiving him as an aide all told him that they appreciated his assistance and the kidou teacher said she was looking forward to having him in class. Each of them gave him the course books that he would need for the following day.

After they left the Academy Ukitake suggested that Ichigo practice with Zangetsu then study the course books. This would keep Ichigo busy while the conspirators met to decide how to get Byakuya to change his mind.

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**JM:This is the end of the chapter two. Again I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter the conspirators gather and plans are made. I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine. **


	3. Plans Are Made

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo snaps and tries to solve it his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy**** by J'aime Manga**

**Chapter 3 – Plans Are Made**

After lunch Ukitake greeted his fellow conspirators and ushered them into the beautiful living room in his home. Cushions surrounded a low table that was set with a tea service and a tray of food. Ukitake surveyed the group. Soi Fong was seated beside Yoruichi. On Soi Fong's right sat Renji and Rukia. Next to them were the single group members Hisagi, Izuru, Momo, Ikkaku, Yumichika. Next to them Matsumoto had dragged in and seated a disgruntled Hitsugaya. Shunsui completed the group and was seated by Ukitake on the other side.

Ukitake served his guests their tea and opened the meeting. "I have successfully enrolled Ichigo-kun at the academy for basic kidou. He will also be an assistant teacher in the other basic classes. In addition he is taking advanced classes with many of you. Hopefully that will keep him constructively occupied and separated from Byakuya-kun. As much as I like them both they constantly aggravate each other and should be kept apart as much as possible."

Ukitake indicated Yoruichi, "Yoruichi-san is representing Urahara in this because he is banned from the Soul Society, but he will be a consultant to our venture. Now as we all know, this is a brainstorming session to plan how to change Byakuya-kun's mind about allowing Ichigo-kun and Rukia-chan to become engaged to each other. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why they rub each other the wrong way all the time?

Rukia said, "It's a little complicated because I know that Nii-sama actually respects Ichigo's loyalty, courage and skill as a fighter. I think that Ichigo's brash, in-your-face approach to people is particularly distressing to Nii-sama because he is used to the deference that his position commands. Ichigo seems to be saying with his lack of respect that position doesn't matter at all.

Hitsugaya said, "Kurosaki-san also has little respect for military rank. He refuses to use honorifics and titles when he considers someone his friend. Once he finds out that it bothers people he uses it to tease them. It's not universal however because he does address some people with respect like you Ukitake-taichou."

Yoruichi said, "He was taught formal manners by his mother, but his father has undermined that training. Ichigo-kun is the defacto adult in that household because of his father's childish behavior. As a result I believe that Ichigo is unwilling to give automatic respect to his elders unless he believes that they have earned it."

Hitsugaya was about to comment when Yoruichi cut him off. "Before you become offended Hitsugaya-taichou, I'm sure that despite appearances he does respect you and your abilities. In addition to teasing you he seems to view you as a comrade. Keep in mind that the Soul Society has not fully recognized his position as a Shinigami Daichou. We do not accord him official status or rights as a shinigami even though we expect him to defeat the stronger hollows and arrancar in Karakura. In essence we take him for granted and fail to show him the respect he deserves. Why should he respect us? What he feels towards you is different than what he feels about Byakuya. He is insecure in his position with Byakuya which puts him on the defensive. Byakuya's coldness is interpreted by Ichigo to be a complete disregard for his value as an auxiliary member of the Gotei."

Rukia added, "I agree Hitsugaya-taichou. Even though he teases you he follows your leadership even when he disagrees with you. He would ignore your orders if he thought you were incompetent. He always teases Renji, but I've seen them fight back-to-back and protect each other in battle."

Renji said, "I used to feel the same way that Ichigo feels about Kuchiki-taichou. Because I come from the 78th district of the Rukongai I felt he thought I was trash. I've come to realize that he does value my fighting abilities and competence as a fuku-taichou, but he expresses that so subtly that you really have to know him to understand how he feels. I doubt that anyone outside of family, close friends and immediate subordinates really know how the inner man feels because he puts up that noble facade as a shield."

Shunsui laughed, "Yes, Byakuya-kun always was very proud. He had to fight very hard to be accepted for his abilities and not his social status. He had to suffer contemporaries saying that he got his promotions because he was a nobleman."

Soi Fong, who had remained quiet said, "Analyzing personalities may provide a little insight into the motivations, but it all boils down to how do we present Kurosaki-san so that they both learn to respect and value the other one?"

Rukia said, "We need to set up situations where Nii-sama can see the positive side of Ichigo."

Yoruichi offered, "There is a noble house ball coming up in a month. I know that Byakuya attends those and this year it is being held at the Kuchiki mansion. I am always invited, but I seldom attend. I will attend this year and bring Ichigo as my escort. Does he know how to dance?"

Rukia said, "He hates dancing and formal affairs, but he is actually a good dancer. He invited me to several of the dances at his high school and one of those was a formal dance. I don't know whether or not he needs to be taught social etiquette."

Yoruichi said, "I'm supposed to be teaching him the social graces as well as military courtesy. I'll make sure to teach him what he has to know before the ball."

Shunsui said, "Even though he tends to rub people the wrong way, Kurosaki-san manages to inspire fierce loyalty in the people who fight with him. I battled with his friend Sado-san and even knowing he couldn't win against me he refused to give up because he said that he valued Ichigo-kun's goals over his own life. In addition he managed to befriend and inspire a Quincy to join forces with a shinigami. Those are leadership qualities that are rare and valuable. I'm sure that given the chance, Ichigo-kun would be an asset as captain of a division."

Ukitake said, "Byakuya-san values cold logic over emotions. Even though we see and value Ichigo's ability to appeal to people's emotions, Byakuya-san would not see that as a legitimate style of leadership. He does value skill and ability and seeing that Ichigo-kun is working hard to acquire those skills he currently lacks might improve his opinion of Ichigo-kun. Perhaps we can arrange for Byakuya-san to observe him learning kidou or assisting the teachers. I will try to arrange a visit after Ichigo-kun has had a chance to acclimate to the academy."

Matsumoto spoke up, "Rukia-chan, does Byakuya-taichou know how much you care for Ichigo-kun? I know that he turned Ichigo down when he asked him for your hand in marriage, but does he know that you care for him?"

Rukia blushed, "I tried to talk to him after he calmed down, but he refused to listen. He just keeps saying that because Ichigo is not a nobleman he wouldn't consider him as a suitable husband for me."

Yoruichi snorted, "He's a hypocrite and is hiding behind that as an excuse. You and your sister were not noblewomen and yet he married Hisana and adopted you. I think that Byakuya-kun is being overly protective. However, as that is something that we can't change, I suggest that we concentrate on Ichigo's strong points for now."

Ikkaku volunteered, "We all know that Ichigo-kun is strong and accomplished as a fighter. Why don't we have him spar with some of us to demonstrate his abilities. I for one would love to have a second chance to fight with him. I understand that he achieved both his shikai and bankai during the ryoka invasion. He was also an enormous help during the Winter War. I never thought anyone would be able to bring down Aizen and yet he did it."

Hisagi rolled his eyes, "Ikkaku, think about what you just said. Do you think any of us would stand a chance against him? If Kuchiki-taichou isn't already impressed by his fighting prowess, sparring with us isn't going to change his mind. I can't believe that you would want to deliberately challenge Kurosaki-san."

Yumichika said, "It's a Squad 11 thing. We must seek out the strongest opponents to keep our skills sharp. Even Zaraki-taichou is eager to cross swords with Ichigo-kun again."

Soi Fong rolled her eyes, "The object is to show off Kurosaki-san's prowess, not put him in the hospital. I think that we should discourage a match between him and Zaraki-taichou for now. Zaraki-taichou gets carried away when he fights."

Ukitake said, "Well I think that we have enough to get started on. I will try to arrange for Byakuya-san to observe him at the academy, Rukia-chan can keep on working on Byakuya-kun at home and Yoruichi-chan will get Ichigo-kun ready to attend the nobleman's ball. I will let you know when our next meeting will be."

With that the meeting broke up and Ukitake ushered his guests out.

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**JM: This is the end of chapter three. Thank you for reading I hoped you enjoyed it. In the next chapter Ichigo begins his classes and has to prove himself as a teaching assistant. As always I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine. **


	4. Starting At The Academy

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo snaps and tries to solve it his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy** by J'aime Manga

**Chapter 4: Starting at the Academy**

The next day Ichigo got dressed in the academy uniform and ate breakfast quickly then grabbed his book bag and headed to his kidou class. When the teacher arrived she introduced herself as Dura Ayame and took attendance. She explained that the class would be split up between one hour of theory and one hour of practical application in the kidou practice field.

"Kidou is the art of gathering a precise amount of reiatsu and shaping it by use of an incantation then releasing it at a target. As you master each spell you will be able to dispense with the incantation and just say the name of the spell. You will find that the better your reiatsu control the more effective your spells will be."

Ichigo groaned. Reiatsu control had always been difficult for him. He mentally vowed that he would work very hard with Unohana-taichou to master reiatsu control. This would also help him to be able to sense others' reiatsu and mask his own in while perfecting his kidou.

They went over the incantation for the fire shot in class. When they moved on to the practice stage Ichigo diligently memorized the incantation while the first few people attempted to hit the targets placed at the end of the field while the teacher corrected their mistakes.

When he was called Ichigo took his position and gathered his reiatsu while he chanted the incantation. Just as he was about to release his fire shot his reiatsu flared and blew his shot off course creating an explosion and a deep crater in the ground well beyond the target.

Dura-sensei and the rest of the class stopped what they were doing to stare at the crater. Ichigo burned with embarrassment as he heard a couple of snickers from classmates followed by comments. "I thought he was a great war hero. I can't believe that he can't even do a basic kidou spell."

Dura-sensei frowned at the class. "Go back and review what you did on your first attempt because you will be doing it a second time in just a few minutes."

She walked up to Ichigo and said, "Kurosaki-san, don't worry about this first attempt. Your high level of spirit energy is going to be your biggest challenge to learning kidou. Most of the students here begin with an average amount of spirit energy and raise it steadily throughout their years at the academy. Your spirit energy level is probably one of the highest I've ever seen. While that will allow you to master the highest level kidou quickly, you need to learn to control your reiatsu first."

"Sensei, I am scheduled to begin working with Unohana-taichou tonight on learning to control my reiatsu."

"That will help you a great deal. For now I just want you concentrate on forming your reiatsu into small concentrated balls of energy, then lowering the energy rather than expelling it. I won't ask you to attempt any more kidou until you can successfully control your reiatsu. With your level of energy you are a danger to yourself and your classmates until you are able to control it."

When she saw that Ichigo was discouraged she smiled and said, "Don't worry, one of the current captains had the same problem and once he learned control he became one of the best kidou users in the Gotei divisions."

Ichigo brightened. "Really? Sensei which captain was it?"

Dura-sensei said, "I shouldn't tell you because I know it would embarrass him but it is Kuchiki-taichou. Even though you have more spirit energy than he did, the current method for controlling reiatsu was perfected by him."

Ichigo's mouth dropped open in shock, "Kuchiki-taichou sucked at kidou too?"

Dura-sensei smiled, "Yes, so there's hope for you."

Ichigo's determination kicked into high gear. "If he could do it then I'll work on it until I master it too. Thank you, Sensei."

Dura-sensei nodded, "That attitude will help you succeed in the long run. Please don't worry about the comments of your classmates. If you are anything like Kuchiki-taichou, you will probably be at the top of this class by the end of the session."

"Hai, sensei."

Ichigo ignored his classmates and practiced forming his reiatsu for the rest of the period.

When the period was over one of his female classmates came over with her friend. "My name is Nashi Yura and this is my friend Orotono Kana."

Ichigo said, "I'm pleased to meet you both. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

Yura giggled, "We know that Kurosaki-kun and I was surprised that you were having trouble even though you are a war hero."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I wish people would stop calling me a war hero. I wasn't the only one on the front lines. There were many very skilled warriors who gave their lives to fight the traitor captains. Without their sacrifices I would never have gotten close enough to kill Aizen. As to my problem with kidou, I was taught my combat skills by several eccentric teachers and I didn't have time to learn kidou before the war. We just relied on kidou specialists."

Yura said, "Come on, let's hurry. I don't want to be late to zanjutsu. If you ever need help with kidou, Kana and I would love to help you."

Ichigo smiled, "Thank you. Sensei said that I need to learn reiatsu control techniques before I can learn kidou, but I am being tutored in that. Once I have my reiatsu under control I would really appreciate help in catching up."

After retrieving Zangetsu Ichigo walked into zanjutsu class and the teacher indicated a chair and a small desk to Ichigo.

"I am Tanaka Jiro and I will be your zanjutsu instructor."

He indicated Ichigo. "This is Kurosaki Ichigo and he will be my teaching assistant. He and I will demonstrate the techniques and he will help me work with you. You will address him as Kurosaki-sensei."

The student who had ridiculed Ichigo during kidou challenged, "He's a student too, why should we call him a sensei?"

Tanaka-sensei smiled, "Kurosaki-sensei would you help me give them a demonstration of battle techniques and we can show Asama Kei-san why he should call you sensei?"

Ichigo whispered, "Sensei, could we please stay at the sealed level? My spirit energy level could make it dangerous at the shikai or bankai levels."

Tanaka-sensei said quietly so that only Ichigo could hear him, "I think that we can demonstrate the advanced techniques at the sealed level. However I would like to see your bankai sometime."

Ichigo said equally quietly, "If we could find a way to shield everyone from the spirit energy I would be glad to show you my bankai or I could show you privately later."

Ichigo and Tanaka took ready stances and began fighting with zanpakutoh. Ichigo used defensive moves while he sized up his opponent. Tanaka was obviously an accomplished swordsman because he didn't present any discernible weaknesses.

Tanaka bore straight in testing Ichigo's defenses. Ichigo easily blocked the attack and came in under with a counter attack. Tanaka was expecting that move and parried. Ichigo used shunpo to get behind Tanaka to slice at his back, but was blocked once again. Both fighters recognized that the previous moves had been merely been used to test each other.

Now it was time to get down to the real fight. The fight began to get much faster, their swords clashing time after time and each man parried, countered and attacked in graceful movements that resembled a lethal dance. They used high level shunpo to maneuver behind their opponent or to dodge attacks. Finally, Ichigo used his fastest shunpo which was only slightly slower than Yoruichi's. He vanished and reappeared with his blade pressed against Tanaka's throat. Tanaka indicated surrender and Ichigo lowered his zanpakutoh.

Tanaka said, "Adouma-sensei warned me about that finishing move, but I still couldn't guard against it. Thank you Kurosaki-sensei. Turning back to the class he said, "Kurosaki-sensei is a master swordsman. I hope there is no more question that he should be addressed as a sensei."

Ichigo re-sheathed Zangetsu and bowed. Ichigo said, "You are also a gifted swordsman yourself Tanaka-sensei. I enjoyed sparring with you."

Tanaka turned back to the class. "Now Kurosaki-sensei and I will demonstrate slowly the basic moves and footwork that you will be learning and practicing today."

For the rest of the theory period, Tanaka-sensei had Ichigo demonstrating the positions and blade movement that would be used by the students as they sparred during the practical portion of the lesson. The students moved to the training field and lined up individually to practice the footwork and sword motions they had been learning. Ichigo and Tanaka walked among the students correcting the posture and strokes of the students.

As Ichigo passed by Asama he stopped to correct a sloppy stance. The student sneered quietly, "My brother Asama Ryushui was a much better assistant than you are even if you are some fancy fighter and they fired him. I bet you don't last even a week."

Ichigo said coolly, "You don't have to like me, but if you ever hope to be placed in one of the Gotei Divisions you will have to learn military courtesy to those in charge of you. None of the Captains tolerate disrespect from their subordinates."

"Hai Kurosaki-_sensei,_" the young nobleman sneered.

At the end of the period Tanaka said, "Tomorrow we will begin sparring with partners using wooden practice swords. Keep in mind that I want you to practice with a different person every day.

The hakuda class followed the same pattern. Ichigo was introduced as the teacher's assistant and helped the teacher, Nara Daisuke demonstrate the basics, then walked among the students correcting the students' mistakes.

Although the insolent nobleman didn't speak to him again, Ichigo could feel his hostility. In contrast, Kana and Yura thanked him for his help and introduced him to some of their other classmates both male and female. Ichigo was welcomed into the group and chatted with them during lunch.

After lunch the students went on to hohou class. The instructor introduced herself as Tantaro Kaede. She and Ichigo demonstrated the basic shunpo and played a game of tag to demonstrate the basic technique. Again Ichigo helped Tanaka-sensei break them up into groups of two. Occasionally Ichigo would demonstrate individually where he found people struggling.

The class ended and Tanaka said, "Okay class, please practice your basic steps and class is dismissed. "Kurosaki-san, would you wait for a few minutes, I would like to ask you some questions?"

After the class filed out Tantaro-sensei asked, "Kurosaki-san, who taught you your shunpo?"

Ichigo smiled, "The Goddess of Flash herself, Shihōin Yoruichi-sama taught me."

"No wonder you are so good. She is the master of the art. Does she still embarrass people when she changes forms?"

Ichigo blushed and nodded. "She loves to play that joke all the time. It always embarrassed me and she thought that was cute so she did it all of the time just to watch my reaction."

Kaede laughed, "I remember she used to give all the male students nosebleeds when she did."

A voice behind them said, "He turns such a pretty shade of red when he blushes, I just couldn't resist."

Ichigo started to turn around when he caught himself and asked suspiciously, "Yoruichi, do you have clothes on?"

Kaede giggled, "She is dressed this time Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo turned around and saw Yoruichi smiling at him. "Ichigo, Retsu wondered if you could go now for your lesson with her. She has a meeting to attend tonight. Soi Fong has agreed to work with you after that and I will meet you at the 2nd Division to work with you after that. Ordinarily you will work with Soi Fong Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. At the same time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday you will work with Juushiro and Shunsui."

Ichigo bowed formally, "Hai, Yoruichi-sama. Tanaka-sensei, I will see you tomorrow. If you will excuse me, I need to hurry over to the 4th Division. Dura-sensei said that I need to learn to control my reiatsu better before I will be allowed to practice kidou. She said that she doesn't need any more craters in the kidou practice field."

As Ichigo hurried off Kaede looked quizzically over at Yoruichi who was laughing. "What is he talking about?"

Yoruichi said, "From what Ayame told me, when he attempted to produce a fireball he put too much reiatsu behind it and blew a crater three feet in diameter and two feet deep in the kidou practice field 20 yards beyond the practice target."

Ayame's stared at Yoruichi in horror not knowing whether she was teasing or not. "Is he that dangerous?"

Yoruichi said, "He has the highest reiatsu levels that I've ever seen other than the Sou-taichou. He has a difficult time reigning it in to normal levels, that's why he really needs to work hard with Retsu."

She smiled affectionately, "After the first time he tried to use kidou during battle, he was asked to leave kidou to the experts." She laughed at an old memory, "He managed to blow a hole in Las Noches that was twenty feet tall and twelve feet wide. He almost took out the Sou-taichou at the same time. I'll never forget the look of shock on his face."

Kaede asked, "Yoruichi-sama, I never expected him to be so young. How can he have learned so much without formal Academy training at such a young age?"

Yoruichi said, "He's very special. Although I'm not at liberty to say much, suffice it to say that he has Shinigami heritage that he is not aware of and two very special parents. His reiatsu had to be sealed when he was a baby so that he wouldn't attract hollows, but the seal broke down as he grew older. The Sou-taichou says that he has the highest reiatsu level of all the Seireitei shinigami except for himself. Even at that the Sou-taichou says that it almost equals his own level. He feels that eventually Ichigo will probably exceed his level when he reaches his full potential. Ichigo doesn't know it but we were always vigilant during the war to keep him from being captured by Aizen and turned into an Arrancar. That would have been disastrous."

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**JM: This is the end of chapter four. Thank you for reading I hoped you enjoyed it. In the next chapter Ichigo begins his advanced training sessions. As always I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine. **


	5. Advanced Lessons

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo snaps and tries to solve it his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy** by J'aime Manga

**Chapter 5: Advanced Lessons**

Ichigo hurried over to the 4th Division and was told that Unohana-taichou was awaiting him in her office. He before he could knock and Unohana called out, "Come in Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo entered with a puzzled look on his face. After she had served them both tea she said, "From the look on your face when you entered you are probably wondering why I knew it was you before you spoke. Because you are unsuccessful in controlling your spirit energy, everyone around you who is spiritually aware knows you are approaching while you are still a great distance away. Conversely, your high spirit level is also the reason that you have trouble sensing other people's reiatsu. Your energy overwhelms your senses."

Ichigo hung his head in embarrassment. "Kurosaki-kun there is no need to be embarrassed. You have never been formally trained to control your reiatsu. In your lessons with me, I will teach you control."

Ichigo said, "I hope that I can learn quickly because Dura-sensei says that she won't let me practice kidou until I can cast kidou without blasting craters in the practice field."

Retsu smiled behind her hand, "I heard about what happened this morning. Let's adjourn to the Division 4 training grounds. There is a reinforced building at the far end where we will conduct your lessons."

When they entered the building Ichigo dropped into a seated position and said to his hollow, "We both will profit if I can learn this so please don't interfere. Our lives could depend on this someday."

His hollow said, "_Even though I doubt that you will be able to do it as dense as you are, Zangetsu has ordered me not to interfere, so I will be quiet for now_. _I just don't understand why you need kidou when you can produce ceros._"

Retsu said in a low, pleasant voice, "Now I want you to clear your mind of everything else and concentrate on feeling your reiatsu inside and outside of your body."

Ichigo closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. He cleansed his mind of everything. At first he couldn't feel anything and felt a little embarrassed and discouraged. He heard his hollow snickering and mentally told him to shut up.

Noticing the frown on Ichigo's face Retsu said in a soothing voice, "You are doing fine Kurosaki-kun, don't try and force this."

Ichigo nodded and tried again. This time he began to vaguely feel energy waves within his body. "I think I can feel something."

Retsu said, "You are probably sensing your inner spirit energy which is the easiest to feel. Keep relaxed and expand your sensory field."

Ichigo tried to expand his awareness and just as he thought he couldn't do it he began to see waves of blue energy swirling outside his body. "I can't feel it but I can see waves of blue circling my body."

"Very good, Kurosaki-kun, I wasn't expecting you to sense it all. Can you get a feeling of how much spirit energy is inside as opposed to outside your body?"

Ichigo thought about it and said, "I believe that I have more energy inside than outside but I can barely see my body through the blue haze which must mean that I have a great deal of energy outside my body too."

"What you see swirling around outside your body is what makes you so easy to trace. Your energy level makes people with low to moderate spirit energy uncomfortable in your presence even if you are feeling calm. When you are angry a great deal more energy flows outside your body to prepare you to overcome the source of your anger. It becomes very uncomfortable for even people with high spirit energy at times like that and could make the people with lower energy faint or feel that they can't breathe. For the sake of your friends and allies, this is what we are going to work to reign in."

Ichigo opened his eyes and said, "I know exactly what you are talking about and you're right, I have very little control of my energy when I'm mad or scared. But Unohana-taichou how am I going to force all of that energy back into my body? It already feels like I'm going to burst at the seams as it is."

"Think of it like sealing your zanpakutoh. Your zanpakutoh is one of the few that is always in a state of Shikai unless you consciously seal him. What are the steps you follow to seal him?"

Ichigo said, "I have to focus on pushing my reiatsu into Zangetsu evenly then concentrate on changing his form to the sealed position. I feel he is like a ball that I have to fill up with reiatsu to reward him for changing into the form I want. It's not easy because Zangetsu hates to be confined."

Unohana smiled, "I like your 'ball' metaphor. I want you to visualize a deflated ball that will hold all of the reiatsu from outside and inside your body. When you are able to pump your reiatsu into this ball I want to picture yourself putting in an air gauge that you can use to release a measured amount of reiatsu out at a time."

Ichigo closed his eyes again and tried to visualize a deflated ball. He saw himself gather his inner reiatsu in just like he would gather his reiatsu to go to bankai, create his mask or power his Getsuga Tenshou and try to inflate the ball. His first few attempts were laughable. The energy would leak back out before he got the gauge in place.

When he complained about this to Unohana she suggested, "Try using a measure of your reiatsu to seal off the opening until the gauge is in place."

Ichigo found that he could finally picture getting the gauge in place. "I did it!"

Unohana said, "Very good, now try reigning in the reiatsu outside your body and add it to the ball."

Ichigo once again gathered up the outside reiatsu which was more difficult because it was less confined. He didn't manage to get it all so that there was still a residue of reiatsu outside. When he attempted to inflate the ball further with the new reiatsu he lost control and all of the reiatsu came rushing back out leaving a flattened ball. The reiatsu once again covered his body inside and outside.

"Why can't I hold it?" Ichigo said in frustration.

Unohana said, "Don't worry about it Kurosaki-kun. This will take practice. You didn't have all of the muscles strength you needed to lift and fight with your zanpakutoh at the beginning did you? Practicing helped you develop your muscles over time. In the same way you need to develop the mental 'muscles' to control your reiatsu. Actually you did astonishingly well for a first attempt especially considering the massive amount of reiatsu you are trying to control."

"Will I ever get it?" moaned Ichigo.

"That is up to you Kurosaki-kun. You will be successful if you put in the effort. However, you will have to dedicate yourself to learning control just as you learned how to fight with a sword or hakuda. Whether you develop it or not depends on how badly you want to learn. There are no shortcuts this time, just hard work."

Ichigo sighed then smiled, "To quote Zaraki-taichou, 'It wouldn't be any fun if it were easy.'"

They both laughed thinking of this image.

Ichigo's expression became completely serious and he said, "Since Dura-sensei won't let me practice kidou until I can control my energy level, I guess I will have to work hard to get it as soon as possible so I don't get too far behind."

Unohana said, "I have every faith that you will ultimately be successful. Once you learn control then I will have Hanataro-kun work with you on medical kidou. I understand that in the real world you are studying to be a human healer. Healing uses a great deal of reiatsu so your over abundance will work in your favor. When the Arrancar threat is over maybe we should kidnap you and hold you prisoner in the 4th Division holding cell until you agree to join us."

Ichigo laughed but wasn't too sure whether or not Unohana was kidding. "I will think about it Unohana-taichou."

Unohana said, "I think that you have done enough for today's lesson. If you can practice your control between our meetings you will learn more quickly, but don't overdo it. You are doing a lot of different things all of which require reiatsu. You don't want to slow down the learning process by exhausting yourself and becoming a patient."

Ichigo bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you Unohana-taichou for your patience."

"Not at all Kurosaki-kun. Now I think that you need to go get some dinner before Soi Fong-taichou puts you through her special brand of torture that she likes to call training."

Ichigo took his leave and went back to the 13th Division to get dinner. After he wolfed down his supper he used shunpo to get the 2nd Division. Soi Fong had him change into the practice outfit favored by the 2nd Division and put him through a grueling hakuda work out. He found that even with his level of karate experience he couldn't land a blow on Soi Fong.

She said, "You have a great deal of skill and potential but you need to increase those skills if you are going to be able to defeat me."

She proceeded to show Ichigo advanced hand-to-hand techniques and by the end of the practice session he had finally landed a successful blow only to be thrown and pinned.

"Looks like we need to build up your stamina and refine your techniques. You learn quickly but you need to read your opponent and not just fight like a berserker. I've watched you in battle. You tend to rely on brute force to overwhelm your opponent. Your instincts are good but you need to add your intelligence into the mix. Despite how Kuchiki Rukia belittles your intelligence you are really quite smart. Use it to develop your strategy."

When Ichigo stopped panting he said, "Ukitake-taichou told me almost exactly the same thing. I need to out think my opponent and figure out his weaknesses so that I'm not so predictable."

"I'm sure that Ukitake-taichou will teach you zanjutsu strategy, but I will teach you how to add hakuda and advanced shunpo into the mix. You have an advantage because you also have mastered the hollow equivalent of shunpo to add to your arsenal of tactics. One advantage your high reiatsu level gives you is the ability to add large amounts spirit energy to your attacks without weakening you which makes you twice as dangerous. Once Unohana-taichou teaches you to completely control your reiatsu, I will teach you advanced stealth techniques as well."

"Thank you for your time, Soi Fong-taichou. I promise you I will train hard to learn what you and Unohana-taichou have taught me."

"I will see you tomorrow in the afternoon. After dinner is not a good time because you are already exhausted from the day's activities and sleepy from eating dinner."

Ichigo turned and began to go toward the boundaries of the 2nd Division when Yoruichi slipped in beside him. "I was watching you and Soi Fong spar. You are holding your own which is something to be proud of. She is gifted in hakuda and hohou. Very few can keep up with her for as long as you did."

Ichigo said, "Thanks Yoruichi-sama. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed by how much I still have to learn."

"Don't worry Ichigo. I have confidence that you will learn it quickly. While we are discussing things Ichigo, I appreciate the fact that you are trying to be respectful but unless we are in an official setting, I gave you permission long ago to drop the honorifics. I consider you nakama. By the way, for the time being we will concentrate your training with me on etiquette and military courtesy. There is a nobleman's ball that is coming at the end of the month and I want you to be ready to be my escort. Byakuya will be attending and we want to show him that you can be civilized and respectful. Rukia tells me that you already know how to dance well."

Ichigo wrinkled his nose up and said, "I hate formal parties. There are so many stuck up, stuffed shirts at those things."

"I agree but if you can keep your temper, it will be a showcase of your talents in that department. Don't worry. What you don't already know I will drill into you before the ball. We all want you to dazzle Byakuya with your charm and grace."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and said under his breath, "I think I'd rather face his bankai instead."

Yoruichi laughed, "I heard that Ichigo. Don't worry, you'll be fine I'm sure."

Ichigo snorted, "If you say so Yoruichi. If it doesn't work, can you show me how to change into a cat so that I can sneak away without anyone being the wiser."

Yoruichi said, "Unfortunately only the people of my clan can do that. I won't keep you because you look like you are dead on your feet. Go to the 13th and get some sleep because you'll need it."

"Yes, ma'am. I was headed there. But will you answer one question for me?"

"Sure."

"Which way is the 13th?"

Yoruichi pointed while she laughed and held her sides, "How did you ever find Aizen in Las Noches? Your poor sense of direction is scary."

"Haw, haw, Yoruichi, very funny." Ichigo stalked off toward the 13th Division and bed.

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**JM: This is the end of chapter five. Thank you for reading I hoped you enjoyed it. In the next chapter Byakuya comes to the Academy to make an annual review of the Academy. Will he change his mind about Ichigo? As always I welcome constructive constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine. **


	6. Academy Observations

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo snaps and tries to solve it his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy** by J'aime Manga

**Chapter Six: Academy Observations**

Ichigo worked hard over the next few days and finally mastered basic reiatsu control. This allowed him to begin catching up in kidou with the help of Yuri and Kana. With Retsu's help and encouragement he extended the ball visualization to include extracting the exact amount of reiatsu consistently for increasingly difficult kidou.

At first he was still putting too much reiatsu into the lower level spells, but as he narrowed the reiatsu flow he finally found the exact amount to perform the fireball spell correctly. When he attempted to use the same amount on other kidou spells he discovered that each kidou spell required a different amount of reiatsu. With the gauge he was finally able to use the exact amount of reiatsu each time. Dura-sensei was impressed with his progress.

As soon as Ichigo gained control of his reiatsu Unohana said that she wanted him to practice kidou for awhile before they went on to more advanced techniques such as sensing others' reiatsu. For the time being she turned the lessons over to Hanataro to teach Ichigo basic healing kidou. It soon became apparent that Ichigo had a talent for it. Under Hanataro's supervision Ichigo began working in the hospital on the weekends to heal simple cases.

Unohana was very pleased with Ichigo's progress and felt more and more that after the clean-up of Hueco Mundo she would work on Ichigo to become a healer. He had a gift for it and she felt that it wouldn't be long before she began teaching him more advanced medical kidou. Many of the more advanced medical techniques required high levels of reiatsu to perform. However, she knew that she still had plenty of time to teach him before he passed over and officially became a full shinigami.

Ichigo was also getting the hang of assisting the teachers in the other classes. Except for Asama and his group of friends, the other students got along well with Ichigo and began learning at a faster rate. Ichigo was able to motivate even the kids who were really having the most trouble. He encouraged them while still challenging them to do their best.

After three weeks Ukitake convinced Byakuya to inspect the summer classes the next day as part of the annual evaluation of the Academy that Byakuya reported to the Sou-taichou. Ukitake purposely did not tell Ichigo that they would be coming. He and Byakuya would be observing in a special booth that allowed them to see the lessons without being seen themselves.

When Byakuya arrived Ukitake ushered him to the booth where they could view the kidou practice field. When Byakuya noticed Ichigo he said, "I was not aware that Kurosaki Ichigo had enrolled at the Academy."

"He is simply enrolled for the summer to learn basic kidou. It is an area that he has never had the opportunity to learn and should learn."

"Having observed first hand his disastrous attempts to produce basic kidou on the battlefield I wonder if it wise to have him placed in a classroom situation. He almost killed the Sou-taichou before he banned Kurosaki from practicing any more kidou during the war. His lack of reiatsu control makes his use kidou problematic."

Ukitake smiled, "Unohana-taichou has been working with him in the evenings on reiatsu control. I think you will be surprised at the difference in him."

Dura-sensei told the class, "To warm up I want you all to perform the fireball technique before we attempt the lightening kidou we learned today in theory. Please line up in your usual ranks."

Ichigo's group was the last. Ichigo lined up his target and visualized the gauge. He used the exact amount of reiatsu and hit the target dead center with a perfect shot. Dura-sensei said, "You've come a long way from the first day of class Kurosaki-san that was well done."

Ichigo smiled, "Thank you sensei, I hated having to fill in the craters in the practice field."

"Alright class I want to see how well you have mastered this basic kidou. As you know, when you have thoroughly mastered a kidou, it is possible to perform the kidou without chanting. This takes precision reiatsu control. This time when your turn comes I want you to attempt this same kidou without chanting."

As the students came up very few were successful in producing the fireball. Even those who did couldn't hit the targets. Ichigo thought that it would require more reiatsu than the simpler version. Ichigo stepped up, concentrated, drew out more than the proscribed amount of reiatsu and fired. Again the fireball hit the target dead center but the fireball was much larger and destroyed the stand too. It roared past the stand to come to rest far beyond the target creating a good sized crater.

Byakuya looked at Ukitake, "I thought he had his reiatsu under control. This just proves that it is too dangerous to have him take part in regular Academy classes.

Ukitake looked uncomfortable but said, "Let's wait and see what the instructor says."

Ichigo looked with dismay at the result. "I'm so sorry sensei I thought I would need more reiatsu to perform it without the chant. Maybe I need to work with Unohana-taichou some more."

Dura-sensei said, "No Kurosaki-san, you have acquired enough control. Many people mistakenly think that it takes more reiatsu. Try it again with the next target and use the amount of reiatsu that you used when you chanted the incantation. The trick is in focusing on the spell and how it forms not in pushing in more reiatsu."

Ichigo said, "Are you sure it's safe?"

"I want you to trust me on this one. Just keep in mind that you will have to fill in the craters you create and replace the targets you destroy."

Ichigo nodded and concentrated as hard as he could then used the amount of reiatsu he used for the normal spell, took aim and fired. This time the fireball struck just the target area without destroying anything or going beyond."

Dura-sensei said, "Congratulations, Kurosaki-san. Your control was perfect. As a matter of fact, I've been impressed the last couple of classes that you have discovered some way to consistently produce the same amount of reiatsu each time. All right class form up again and practice the lightening kidou you learned this morning."

Ukitake turned to Byakuya and said, "Unohana-san has been teaching Ichigo using your method of reiatsu control. It has worked for him. He has to experiment to find the amount of reiatsu for each spell, but once he does he uses the same amount every time."

When the class was over Byakuya and Ukitake met with Dura-sensei.

"Dura-sensei, what is your impression of Kurosaki-san? Is it safe to allow him to continue with this class when he destroys the target so thoroughly?"

"Kuchiki-taichou, I understand your concern after watching his first attempt at kidou without chanting but he actually has had good reiatsu control for a couple of weeks now. Actually he is making phenomenal progress just as you did once he got the feel for it. I think that it is safe to allow him to continue with the class. He is very determined to master kidou and puts in more effort and practice than the others do."

Ukitake looked at Byakuya to see how he was taking this but couldn't tell because Byakuya's face was impassive.

Byakuya said, "Thank you for your input Dura-sensei. I will take that under consideration. We need to continue to the next class." He bowed slightly and followed Ukitake to the zanjutsu class.

When they got there the class was already in session. Ichigo and Tanaka were slowly demonstrating the first of two techniques that they would be learning that day. Ukitake marveled at the control it took for Ichigo and Tanaka to perform the maneuver at such a slow speed something that was usually done in a few seconds. This was followed by a demonstration at full speed. Next, Tanaka had Ichigo demonstrate the steps and cutting motions of the second technique while Tanaka described it. This was followed by another demonstration of how both could be integrated into a longer combination attack.

In the practice stage Tanaka and Ichigo split the class and one at a time the students sparred with one of the two instructors before they were paired with a classmate. Ichigo was flowing well between sparring and correcting mistakes until he was paired with Asama. Asama refused to follow Ichigo's instruction.

"My brother showed me a better way to do this. You're not doing it right."

Ichigo said firmly, "Asama-san, I have no idea whether your brother's way is indeed better or not. I also was taught a different way to do this maneuver. However, this class is supposed to teach you the basics which you should master before you attempt more advanced versions. I ask you once again to follow proper form."

"I bet you I could beat you using my brother's form."

Ichigo said coldly, "I am not your sparring partner and I am will not accept a challenge from you during class."

Asama said, "You're just afraid that I will beat you."

Tanaka-sensei stopped coaching and came over. "Asama-san, Kurosaki-sensei is absolutely correct and you are out of line. However, I will let you spar with each other if you put on protective gear and Kurosaki-san you are not to release your zanpakutoh and you will use just the techniques we have learned so far."

Ichigo said, "I have no problem with those conditions."

Asama said, "I hope that you are ready accept defeat gracefully."

Ichigo smiled, "Let's see who is still standing when the match is over."

Asama and Ichigo put on the protective gear and went into the center of the area where they took ready positions. At the signal from Tanaka-sensei they began sparring. Ichigo stuck with the moves that they had already been taught while Asama tried all sorts of fancy maneuvers. Ichigo blocked everything that Asama threw at him and then went on the offensive using the basics. After Ichigo had demonstrated all of the defensive and offensive moves he used the latest move to flip Asama's sword out of his hand and bring Zangetsu to rest over Asama's heart without penetration.

Tanaka-sensei declared Ichigo the winner. Ichigo retrieved Asama's zanpakutoh and handed it back to him then began to walk away to put away the protective gear. Asama charged trying to slash at Ichigo's unprotected back. Ichigo felt his approach, swiveled to block then used Byakuya's maneuver touching Asama's body where the soul chain and the shinigami power centers were before bringing his blade up to Asama's throat.

Ichigo said coldly, "Don't you ever try anything so cowardly again. If this had been a real fight, that last move would have destroyed your spirit power and shinigami powers permanently after which I would have slit your throat. A very skilled swordsman taught me that same lesson the hard way. I've never forgotten the lesson I learned from him. You should never underestimate an unknown opponent. Just when you think you know it all, you'll run up against a swordsman who is faster, stronger and more skilled. Don't challenge me again."

Ukitake glanced over at Byakuya who had a bemused look on his face. "I wonder who Ichigo-kun was talking about?"

Byakuya didn't answer but he knew exactly who the swordsman had been.

At this point the class was over and Ichigo and his classmates moved on to their hakuda class. Byakuya and Ukitake approached Tanaka-sensei.

"Good afternoon sensei. Kuchiki-taichou is here to do the yearly inspection of the Academy."

Tanaka-sensei bowed respectfully, "It is an honor Kuchiki-taichou."

Byakuya asked Tanaka to tell him about his summer class.

"Well, sir, we have a variety of students from those who failed the class last school year to those who are enrolling early. None of the students have materialized their own zanpakutoh spirit. I also have a student teacher who assists me with teaching and demonstrating. As you observed he is a skilled swordsman and has a knack for teaching. The students like and respect him with the exception of Asama Kei-san."

"Why does Asama Kei-san bear him such ill will?"

"Asama Kei-san's brother Asama Ryushui was the student teacher before Kurosaki-kun who was the one who was dismissed for bullying the students. He resents that Kurosaki-sensei took his brother's place."

"Out of curiosity, why did you allow Asama Kei-san to spar against Kurosaki-san? We all know that Kurosaki-san is far beyond Asama Kei-san's level."

"Kurosaki-sensei and I have tried being diplomatic about the situation without any success. I felt that the only way Asama-san would learn was to actually spar with Kurosaki-sensei. Except for the move that Kurosaki-sensei used when he was attacked after the match was over, he used only moves that we have covered in class and easily defended against Asama-san's advanced moves. He then used basic offensive moves to defeat Asama-san."

"Are you contemplating any punishment for the attack Asama-san made after the match was officially over?"

"I have asked him to come to my office after the rest of his classes are over for the day and will tell him that I will be taking penalty points off his grade and will expel him permanently if it happens again or he is disrespectful to Kurosaki-sensei."

"Thank you Tanaka-sensei for your observations."

Byakuya and Ukitake watched the last two classes and spoke with the hakuda and hohou teachers. They said essentially the same thing as Tanaka-sensei. They felt that Ichigo was an asset as a student teacher and that their students learned quickly because of his coaching.

At the end of the day, Byakuya thanked Ukitake for his assistance and told him he would forward a copy of his report on the Academy to him in due time. His face was as impassive as ever and he did not comment on what he thought about Ichigo so Ukitake couldn't tell if this part of the scheme was successful.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
**JM: This is the end of chapter six. Thank you for reading I hoped you enjoyed it. In the next chapter Ichigo and goes to the ball. Will he put his best foot forward or fall flat on his face? As always I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine. **


	7. Noblemen's Ball

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. Will they succeed before a frustrated Ichigo snaps and tries to solve it his own way? IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy** by J'aime Manga

**Chapter Seven: The Noblemen's Ball**

A new meeting of the conspirators was held so that Ukitake could report on the first phase of Project Engagement.

"Ichigo-kun is really doing well at the Academy according to the instructors. Whatever Retsu-chan taught him has worked because he has learned to control his reiatsu. He is making excellent progress in kidou. His results are accurate and consistent."

Ikkaku asked under his breath to Yumichika, "Good, then we don't have to worry about being blown up by friendly fire any more."

Yumichika chuckled but Rukia also heard him and glared at both of them.

Ukitake continued, "Byakuya-kun made his annual inspection of the Academy and all of the instructors praised Ichigo, but he had an accident when he was asked to produce a fireball without chanting. He destroyed the target and stand and created another crater in the kidou field."

Soi Fong said, "I thought you said he was getting consistently good results from his kidou. The last thing we need is to confirm for Kuchiki-taichou that he is still erratic."

"Ichigo-kun told the instructor that he put more than the usual amount of reiatsu behind the spell because he thought that producing kidou spells without chanting would require more reiatsu. When the instructor explained that it required more concentration, not more reiatsu, Ichigo-kun produced a perfect fireball."

Matsumoto asked, "What was Kuchiki-taichou's reaction?"

"He was as unreadable as always. When he sent me his report on the Academy, it made no mention of Ichigo-kun at all."

Yoruichi said, "That might not be as bad as it sounds. I'm sure that he certainly would have commented on him if he thought Ichigo-kun shouldn't be there."

Rukia said, "I have some bad news though. Yesterday the Kuchiki elders received a delegation from the Asama clan. I'm afraid that it might be an offer of marriage. I don't like either of the Asama heirs. The younger one has been harassing Ichigo since the first day because his older brother was the previous teacher's assistant that was fired for bullying the students."

Renji said, "It sounds like we need to make sure that Ichigo does his best at the ball."

Yoruichi said, "We have been working hard with social etiquette and military courtesy. I think that he will do just fine. By the way Rukia, you were correct, Ichigo-kun is an excellent dancer. I just had to teach him some dance steps for the traditional dance which he picked up right away. I took him to get his formal wear last week. It is currently being tailored to fit his broad shoulders and upper body shape, but we are going today for a final fitting. It will be ready for the ball day after tomorrow."

Rukia asked, "What does it look like."

Yoruichi smiled enigmatically and said, "I don't think I'm going to spoil the surprise. Suffice it to say that you will be pleased and he won't go unnoticed."

Hisagi asked, "Rukia-san, how are your attempts to talk to Kuchiki-taichou been going?"

Rukia frowned, "It's almost like he guesses why I want to talk to him. He always has a plausible excuse for not letting the subject come up and never lets us be alone together. I'm really getting frustrated."

Hitsugaya said, "I would suggest that you keep on trying especially if you think that the Asama family is attempting to arrange a betrothal between the two families. If a formal agreement is reached then there is nothing more to be said."

Rukia snapped, "I know that. I'll try my best to talk to Nii-sama alone."

Ukitake said, "Let's not fight among ourselves. Surely Byakuya-kun would not accept a betrothal without talking to you first, Rukia-chan. We don't need to lose hope yet. We will just have to trust Yoruichi-chan and Ichigo-kun for now and see what happens at the ball."

Later that day Rukia was in her room receiving the final fitting for her formal kimono when Byakuya entered. "Rukia, the elders would like to meet with you after you are through with your fitting."

Rukia's heart skipped a beat. This was exactly what she had been dreading. She composed her expression before she turned to face her brother. "Hai, Nii-sama, we just finished."

As they left the room Rukia said as calmly as she could under the circumstances. "Nii-sama, could I talk to you before we meet with the elders?"

"We don't have time, but I will talk to you afterwards if you wish."

Rukia's hope died. She knew that the elders would expect her to accept the betrothal and would be extremely displeased if she refused or asked for time to think about it. The elders had been very angry when Byakuya had first married Hisana and then adopted Rukia. She didn't want to shame her brother. He had changed her life when he adopted her. She was torn between her desire to show gratitude to her brother and her love for Ichigo. She had meant it when she told Ichigo that she would run away with him if no other way could be found, but she hated to think that Byakuya would lose face in front of the elders and prove that they were right all along.

When they entered the room Rukia formally knelt and bowed to the elders. The chief elder said, "Rukia-chan a delegation from the Asama clan has approached us with an offer of marriage between you and the elder heir Asama Ryushui-sama. After careful consideration the council of elders has concluded that an alliance between the Kuchiki and Asama clans would be most beneficial to both families. We hereby ask you to accept this proposal which would be announced at the ball."

Rukia looked at her brother but he gave no indication of his own thoughts on the subject. She took a deep calming breath and said, "I am truly honored that the Asama house would consider such a match. However, I would like to take some time before I accept this engagement."

The chief elder's face hardened. "Because of your background you are not in a position to refuse this offer. There are very few noble families that would overlook the fact that your were a commoner before your adoption so there may not be any further proposals."

Byakuya spoke calmly, "Chief Elder, I'm sure that Rukia's hesitation stems from her concern that she will be asked to give up her seat in the Division not about whether or not she would honor her clan commitments. Rukia has always dutifully done whatever she was asked to do for this family but she also feels a duty to her Division. At the very least she should be given an opportunity to talk to her taichou about her future after marriage."

The chief elder was obviously unhappy. He said, "Byakuya-sama I would like not to insult the Asama clan by asking for a delay in our response to their suit. They may decide to retract their offer if we wait too long."

Byakuya said smoothly, "I will talk to the delegation myself and explain things so that they are not insulted. Please give Rukia a week to consider her decision."

The chief elder said coldly, "As you wish Byakuya-sama, but I still do not like it."

The elders left and Rukia turned to Byakuya stricken, "I'm so sorry Nii-sama. I didn't want to cause you any trouble, but Asama Ryushui looked down on me while we were at the Academy and told me that my adoption did not make me a proper princess. To my knowledge he has never changed his opinion and I am afraid that he will not be happy to have me for a wife."

Byakuya said, "I understand that this marriage would be hard on you, but I want to make sure that you are properly provided for after I am gone. I am concerned that the elders to disown you when I am no longer alive to protect you. I promised your sister that I would always provide for you and I want to fulfill that promise. Please take this week to talk to Ukitake-taichou, but I would like you to accept this proposal."

Before she thought about it she blurted out, "But Nii-sama, how can I marry knowing that I love someone else?"

Byakuya said coldly, "You will consider your obligation as a Kuchiki and do your duty." He left a stunned Rukia in his wake as he exited the room.

The Kuchiki manor was transformed for the ball. The ballroom was aired out and decorated while flowers were artistically placed to show off the elegance of the home. Tantalizing odors wafted through the manor from the many dishes being prepared by the kitchen staff. As the hour of the ball drew near Byakuya and Rukia made themselves ready to greet their guests.

Rukia looked like an exquisite flower in her formal kimono. The outer layer was light blue with deep purple flowers bringing out the color of her eyes. The inner layer was was a lovely shade of lavender. Her hair was swept up and held in place with silver barrettes that looked like butterflies. Rukia hardly recognized herself in the mirror. She noticed that her expression was betraying her growing depression over the proposal. She decided that she would put on her best smile to conceal how she really felt. She was a Kuchiki and outsiders were not entitled to see her inner pain.

Over at Yoruichi's manor servants were helping Ichigo get dressed. He looked stunning. The outer kimono was golden brown with embroidered dragons of green and blue outlined in metallic gold decorated the back and around the sleeves. The inner garment was a shade of burnt orange that matched his hair. With a great deal of effort his hair had been styled with only a few strands falling onto his forehead. Yoruichi matched his elegance in a midnight blue kimono with silver panthers decorating the back. The inner layer was very light shade of blue. Her hair was styled in almost a crown which was surrounded by a silver tiara set with diamonds and sapphires.

As they left the Shihōin manor Ichigo held out his arm to properly escort Yoruichi.

Yoruichi whispered, "Rukia better watch herself, you look so handsome, I might whisk you away for myself."

Ichigo turned bright red, "Yoruichi, you are one of the most beautiful women I know and I admire your battle skills, but I would never consent to that."

Yoruichi laughed, "I know that silly. I was just teasing you. Rukia is a lucky girl. Just watch yourself tonight because you will be in for your fair share of female attention."

Ichigo scoffed, "I doubt that. Girls never look twice at me."

Yoruichi said, "You usually hide your light under scowls and scruffy casual dress. Tonight however, you are just plain hot."

Ichigo said in a scandalized tone, "Yoruichi! Stop that, you are embarrassing me."

Yoruichi smiled, "You are so cute when you blush. Don't worry I won't harass you once we are there. All kidding aside, be prepared because you will have many girls who will want your attention. I will help you disengage without insulting them. In exchange I will claim you for a few dances myself."

Ichigo said quietly, "Yoruichi, I'm nervous that I won't make a good impression. I have never gotten along well with the rich snobs that attended school with me. They always make me feel inadequate. "

Yoruichi said, "If you are tempted to think that way, try to remember if any of those young men ever fought beside us in the Winter War. Most of them remained safely at home in their manors while you, Rukia, Byakuya and the rest of us fought to protect their rich little asses from being eaten by Arrancars. You alone took down Aizen so no one has the right to make you feel the least bit inferior, title or not."

Ichigo nodded and pulled himself up. "You're right. I won't let them make me feel inferior."

Yoruichi laughed, "That's the Ichigo we all know and love. Are you ready to brave the ball?

Ichigo smiled wickedly, "It can't be any worse than battling hollows. Let's go do this!"

When they arrived Ichigo escorted Yoruichi to Byakuya and Rukia. He bowed formally to Byakuya and said, Kuchiki Byakuya-sama thank you for your invitation to the ball. I am escorting Shihōin Yoruichi-sama tonight and I am pleased to be here."

Byakuya returned the bow and said, "Kurosaki Ichigo-san, Rukia and I are pleased that you and Yoruichi-sama could attend."

Ichigo looked at Rukia for the first time and said as he bowed, "Kuchiki Rukia-sama I thank you for your gracious hospitality tonight." Then under his breath because he knew that it was not really appropriate, "You look truly beautiful and you take my breath away."

Rukia said, "Kurosaki Ichigo-san, I am also glad that you and Shihōin-sama could attend." She said in a low whisper, "You are also very handsome tonight."

Byakuya introduced them to the clan elders then turned to the next guests.

Ichigo bowed respectfully to the clan elders and was about to move on when the chief elder spoke to Yoruichi.

"Yoruichi-sama, "I do not really know your escort."

Yoruichi said, "Kuchiki Tomasu-sama, Kurosaki Ichigo is the real world Shinigami Daichou for Karakura town. He provided great assistance to the Shinigami forces in the Winter War and personally killed Aizen Sousuke at great expense to himself. He is here in the Seireitei helping with the clean-up operations in Hueco Mundo and the Seireitei. He is also attending classes at the Shinigami Academy to learn the skills that he didn't have a chance to learn before the war."

The chief elder looked at Ichigo with disdain. "Who are your parents Kurosaki-san?"

Ichigo said, "My father is Kurosaki Isshin and my mother was Kurosaki Masaki. I don't remember her maiden name."

"You resemble Shiba Kaien a great deal. Are you related to the Shiba Clan?"

"I have no idea sir. My father has never said that we were." Yoruichi smiled to herself at that statement.

"Kurosaki-san, I am surprised because I was told that you had no manners and were a barbaric human."

Ichigo felt great rage but with a herculean effort remained impassive and said, "Shihōin Yoruichi-sama is a good teacher. She has taught me that hospitality to guests and manners are essential to polite society regardless of where you are just as my own mother did when I was small. They should both be given credit for my improvement, Kuchiki Tomasu-sama." Ichigo bowed formally, "Now if you will excuse me, I would like to escort Shihōin-sama over to meet her friends."

The chief elder knew he had been out maneuvered and said, "Of course, Kurosaki-san it has been enlightening talking to you."

When they moved on Yoruichi leaned over and chuckled, "That was masterful Ichigo. I am proud of you for not losing your temper. What chief elder said was really insulting and the he was being deliberately rude. Your reply really put him in his place while showing off your manners. Well done!"

Ichigo said, "It took everything I had not to punch him out, but I didn't want to embarrass you or Rukia, However, I wasn't going to let him get away with those insults."

Yoruichi said, "You should have seen Byakuya's expression. He was shocked and embarrassed by the chief elder's remarks. The rudeness reflects poorly on House Kuchiki's hospitality as you subtly pointed out. He controlled himself but I could see he was squirming inside."

Ichigo escorted Yoruichi into the ballroom where they talked with several people until all of the guests had arrived. Yoruichi introduced Ichigo to several of the nobles that he had not met yet. Byakuya and Rukia finally entered and both took dance partners. Byakuya danced with a cousin and Rukia danced with Asama Ryushui who was her partner at the request of Byakuya. After they opened the first dance Ichigo and Yoruichi took to the floor. Ichigo guided her smoothly and expertly.

When he spotted Rukia and her date he asked Yoruichi who her date was. "That is Asama Ryushui-sama. He is the student teacher you replaced who was fired for bullying his students." Yoruichi chose not to tell Ichigo that the Asama clan wanted Ryushui to marry Rukia to avoid a potential confrontation.

After Ichigo had danced another couple of dances with Yoruichi she said that she would prefer to sit the next couple out while she talked a couple of her old friends. Ichigo noticed that Rukia was free and walked over and asked if she would like to dance. She smiled up at him and agreed.

As he led her out on the dance floor he noticed that Ryushui was talking to his brother Kei and both threw angry looks his way. He decided to ignore them and concentrate on Rukia.

"Rukia, you are so beautiful tonight. I'm so glad that I was able to dance with you. Asama-sama seemed to be monopolizing you."

Rukia like Yoruichi decided not to add fuel to the fire by telling Ichigo about his rival. "Ichigo that kimono looks so good on you, I can't get over it and I thought you looked handsome in a tuxedo."

Ichigo laughed, "That's not what you said at the prom. If I remember we spent the whole night insulting each other."

Rukia laughed at the memory, "Well, I wasn't going to let you get the better of me, but you were handsome."

"Well if we are going to confess then I have to say that you were beautiful in your prom dress. It feels so good to talk to you. I haven't gotten to see you much since Byakuya threw me out of the manor and I miss talking to you."

Rukia was about to answer him when Ryushui tapped Ichigo on the shoulder. "Excuse me but you are dancing with my fiancée."

Ichigo looked at Rukia. Rukia looked up with irritation, "Sir, we do not yet have a formal understanding and I would ask you to refrain from stating that we are engaged until it finalized by the clans."

"Well at the least Rukia-sama, you should not be harassed by commoners."

Ichigo considered what he should do but decided that confrontation was not the way to go so he bowed and said, "Kuchiki Rukia-sama, it has been my pleasure to dance with you. Please excuse me."

Rukia said, "Wait Ichigo, you don't have to stop dancing with me. Asama Ryushui-sama, you do not have the right to tell me whom I may or may not dance with. Kurosaki-san and I fought in the Winter War together and he saved my life several times. He is my friend."

At this point Byakuya walked over quietly to see what the fuss was.

Ichigo said, "That is alright Kuchiki Rukia-sama. I don't want to cause any trouble. I will go over to see if Yoruichi-sama would like any refreshments. Again please excuse me."

Asama said, "He is so full of himself. Why does he think he can be so familiar with Shihōin-sama. I'll bet he was not even on the front lines."

Rukia glowered at Asama and said, "He is the one who finally killed Aizen and almost died for it. He saved me and Nii-sama from the fourth Espada as well and I won't have you implying that he isn't worthy to dance with me. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. He is on familiar terms with Yoruichi-san because she was his tutor. She gave him permission a long time ago to be on familiar terms with her."

"My brother says that he is a poor swordsman."

Rukia was getting livid when Byakuya stepped in. "Your brother has never seen Kurosaki-san duel. When he and his friends invaded the Seireitei to rescue Rukia he defeated a third seat, a fuku-taichou, Zaraki-taichou and myself. As Rukia has said, he was also responsible for defeating Aizen Sousuke who was one of the strongest shinigami in the Winter War. Without Kurosaki-san, we would have lost the Winter War and the Seireitei, the noble houses and the monarchy would have perished. He would probably have been made a taichou if he had been a full shinigami, but he is still alive in the real world so he has not yet come into his full power. None of that matters, however. He is a guest here as much as you are and has shown better manners. I do not want there to be any more trouble between you tonight."

Asama stalked off to the sidelines when he saw that Ichigo was at the refreshment table getting refreshments for Yoruichi. He walked up behind Ichigo and deliberately bumped into him causing Ichigo to spill punch all over his kimono then smirking as he apologized for accidentally bumping him. It took all of Ichigo's restraint to keep from beating the noble to a pulp especially when Asama said very quietly, "Stay away from Rukia commoner. She will be my wife and I don't want you put your filthy hands on her."

Ichigo gave him a death glare that plainly said that he had better not walk unattended down a dark alley unless he wanted the beating of his life. Unbeknown to either, Byakuya was standing within earshot and was just about to intervene when Ichigo walked off and told Yoruichi his problem. She thanked Byakuya and they left so that Ichigo could go back to the barracks to get out of the soaked kimono and attempt to save it from being completely ruined.

Ichigo asked, "Why didn't anybody warn me about the engagement offer?"

Yoruichi said, "We didn't want to put any undue pressure on you when you were stressed enough as it was. Despite that you maintained your cool under circumstances where I might have taken Asama out and beaten him within an inch of his life. I'm proud of you Ichi."

Ichigo said glumly, "I looked like a doofus. I should have expected that he would try something like that and been ready. Byakuya must think I'm totally unmannered and a dolt."

Yoruichi said, "On the contrary, I believe that Byakuya observed you using formal manners even in the face of the boorish behavior of nobles who know better. Knowing that you are a notorious hot-head who settles things by fighting, I'm sure he was impressed by your restraint. It is such a departure from his picture of you."

Ichigo said sarcastically, "Gee thanks, Yoruichi. It's so comforting that everyone thinks of me as a hot-head. I think that impressing Byakuya is hopeless. He was so cold to me when we were doing introductions, I'm sure that his opinion of me hasn't improved at all."

"In any case after you change out of those wet clothes give them to me and I will have them cleaned so that they don't stain. Don't worry so much Ichigo. I have a feeling that everything will work out for the best."

"I hope you're right."

They stopped at his room in the 13th Division and after he had changed clothes he handed Yoruichi his formal clothes then walked her home before returning and falling on his bed exhausted. Shortly after he had fallen asleep a general alarm sounded to mobilize the divisions to protect the Seireitei from invasion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**JM: This is the end of chapter seven. Thank you for reading I hoped you enjoyed it. In the next chapter an emergency occurs when a horde of Arrancar appear in the Rukongai. Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya, Ukitake and Renji are saddled with an unwelcome additional team member. As always I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine.**


	8. Invasion!

**Summary: Byakuya has refused to let Ichigo and Rukia get married. A conspiracy is born among sympathetic friends to change his mind. This chapter has been re-written to remove errors. IchixRuki perhaps others AU**

**Disclaimer: **The plot and characters of BLEACH are the intellectual property of Tite Kubo and manga and anime publishers and producers. J'aime Manga has no claim over the characters or plot of BLEACH and makes no profit from this work of fan fiction.

**Keeping Cupid Busy** by J'aime Manga

**Chapter Eight: Invasion!**

Ichigo awoke with a start when the alarm gong was sounded. As he got dressed and put Zangetsu over his back a Hell butterfly appeared telling him that his presence was required at the Captain's meeting which was an unusual occurrence. Even though he had attended war councils during the Winter War he had not been included in captain's meeting since peace had been declared. He fell in with Ukitake-taichou.

"Ukitake-san, I got a Hell butterfly saying I was supposed to attend this meeting, do you know what this is about?"

Ukitake said, "I have no idea, Ichigo-kun."

When all of the taichous plus Ichigo had assembled the Sou-taichou began. "The Rukongai has been invaded by ten Arrancar who have made it almost to the gates. They are currently strung out in several areas. My fuku-taichou is passing out the surveillance reports. We know that the gates and wall will not stand up to high level ceros so if we can, we need to stop them before they breach the gates. I want the third and eighth divisions to help evacuate souls in the Rukongai to the Seireitei. The second, ninth and twelfth divisions will defend within the walls in case of a breach. The fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth, eleventh and thirteenth divisions will go out and attempt to defeat the invasion force before it gets to the gates. Because he has combat experience during the Winter War, I want Kurosaki-san to fight under the sixth division. I will coordinate the defense efforts and I want Kuchiki-taichou to coordinate the offensive strike force. Are there any questions?"

"No Sou-taichou."

"Then please proceed."

Mustering the divisions was left in the hands of the 3rd seats while the strike force taichous and fuku-taichous made plans. Byakuya said, "Zaraki-taichou I want your squad to defend the gates. Your division are the best fighters and I want our best fighters to make sure that no Arrancar makes it inside -the gates. Hitsugaya-taichou I want your division to take the west, Komamura-taichou I want your division to handle the east. Ukitake-taichou your division,my division and the fifth will handle the North where the greatest number of Arrancar are reported to be."

At this point their strategy session was interrupted by Asama-Ryushui. "Kuchiki-taichou I want to fight where Rukia-sama is going to be so that I can protect her. I was the best zanjutsu student in my class. I didn't join a division because I am an heir, but I could have been a seated officer if I had chosen to join a division. Besides, you're taking Kurosaki and he isn't officially part of any division."

Rukia spoke up, "I don't need protection. I am a fuku-taichou with combat experience."

Even Ichigo knew better than to openly state that he was going to protect Rukia. She had proven herself fully capable of fighting Espada much less weaker Arrancar. She reacted violently when people suggested that she needed protection. That never kept him from keeping track of her just in case. But he was irritated that Asama was pushing his way into the strike force without combat experience.

Byakuya said, "You have no combat experience and Kurosaki has experience fighting Arrancar and Espada in the real world, Seireitei and Hueco Mundo and has achieved bankai. Arrancar have captain level abilities and we do not have time to guarantee your safety."

Asama said, "Kuchiki-taichou, I will appeal to the Sou-taichou and invoke the right of Noble houses to fight with the divisions during time of emergency."

Byakuya said, "Very well if you insist then I want you to serve under Ukitake-taichou. You will follow his orders and that of his fuku-taichou or you will be escorted back to the Seireitei. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. All I want is to be able to fight with Rukia."

"Alright let's take our positions."

Byakuya took Ichigo aside. "I want you to keep an eye on Asama-san and see that he doesn't compromise the war effort."

Ichigo said, "Hai, taichou." Even though he hated following Byakuya's orders Ichigo was glad for the opportunity to be close to Rukia. He couldn't help but be angered that he was babysitting a spoiled noble who undoubtedly would have to be protected. However, he didn't want Rukia to be placed in danger if this idiot made a major mistake.

The division headed out and both Hitsugaya and Komamura's division began battling the Arrancar in their areas. The Arrancar were of a high level just below Espada so each battle required several shinigami to bring down the Arrancar.

The sixth and thirteenth division discovered that number of Arrancar had increased to six of the strongest Arrancars. Ichigo singled out a large Arrancar who looked like a lion when he went to resurrection form. He reminded Ichigo of Grimmjow. The lion was capable of shooting out bolts of lightening that temporarily paralyzed the opponent if it hit directly. Ichigo went to his bankai form and used his increased speed to evade the lightning strikes while he darted in to slash his opponent. At one point Ichigo saw an opening to make a killing strike, but as he discovered as he closed in the lion had deliberately left the opening to lure Ichigo in. He pivoted and slashed Ichigo and followed up with a lightning strike. He charged at Ichigo thinking that he had him immobilized but Ichigo was still able to form a cero which he used at point blank range finally killing the lion.

In another part of the battlefield Renji was battling an Arrancar that looked similar to the bull-like Arrancar which he had fought in the real world. Remembering that fight Renji went to bankai and used the skeletal snake to rip into the side of the Arrancar. The Arrancar countered with a charge with his horns lowered. Renji managed to block the charge with Zabimaru but only just. The Arrancar began to power up a cero which Renji blocked with the reiatsu energy blast of his own. Finally Renji disengaged the links of the snake and caused them to rain down on the Arrancar trapping him and cutting him to pieces with the last link piercing his skull. The Arrancar let out one last howl before it disintegrated.

Byakuya had his hands full because the Arrancar that he was fighting was joined by a second one. The two worked together to prevent Byakuya enough time to pull off his bankai attack. Byakuya had picked up a couple of deep cuts that were bleeding badly when Ichigo finished off his Arrancar and joined him. Ichigo began firing Getsuga Tenshous at the two Arrancar keeping them on the defensive until Byakuya could finish his Senbonsakura attack. Ichigo added his Getsuga Tenshou to the lethal cherry blossom blades attack and both Arrancar finally went down.

Byakuya and Ichigo combined to dispatch the fifth Arrancar easily. On the other side Ukitake and Rukia were teaming up to take down an especially difficult Arrancar who had tremendous speed which made it difficult for Rukia's ice attack to hit. Asama was basically getting in the way by getting in front of Rukia, preventing her from being effective in her attacks for fear of hitting Asama. This in turn forced Ukitake to battle the Arrancar close in.

Byakuya pointed toward Ruka and said, "Go cover them while I marshall the rest of the attack." Ichigo nodded and took off to join Ukitake, Rukia and Asama.

Ukitake was starting to overwhelm the Arrancar when he began coughing and spitting up blood. He move off out of range while he coughed. The Arrancar immediately went after Rukia and Asama. Asama screamed as the Arrancar approached and grabbed Rukia's arms using her as a shield. The Arrancar was about to stab Rukia through the heart when Ichigo swooped in blocking the attack and yelled to Rukia to take Ukitake and Asama and get them back to the medics.

Ichigo began using Getsuga Tenshou on this Arrancar but due to his speed he dodged out of the way Ichigo decided that he needed to increase his attack power and reached up and gathered his hollow reiatsu to form the hollow mask. With the addition of his hollow powers Ichigo was finally able to first match and then exceed the speed of the Arrancar. Ichigo was able to fire off point blank black Getsuga Tenshous from several different angles severely injuring the Arrancar. Byakuya joined him at this point and imprisoned the Arrancar with a high level binding kidou while Ichigo powered up and fired a Gran Ray Cero that Grimmjow had taught him during the war. The Arrancar was mortally hit but in its death throes toppled a tower onto Ichigo and Byakuya.

Renji and Rukia looked on in horror as Ichigo and Byakuya disappeared from sight. They shunpoed to the rubble and tried to shift it but soon realized that their efforts weren't going to be enough so they went for help.

In the meantime Ichigo woke up with excruciating pain in his legs, beside an unconscious Byakuya. They had been saved because the floor of the building had broken open and they had fallen into a subbasement so they had an air supply and supporting timbers that kept the heavier debris from crushing them. Byakuya was breathing shallowly and Ichigo knew that without help Byakuya was going to die. Ichigo had exhausted a great deal of reiatsu during the fights but decided to use the medical kidou that he had learned from Hanataro to sustain Byakuya's life function. It wasn't much but if the rescuers got to them quickly enough Byakuya would have a chance of survival.

About 10 minutes later Ichigo could hear voices far away and yelled back but didn't know if anyone had heard him. Byakuya woke up at this point and was in obvious pain. "Kurosaki, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to keep you alive with the medical kidou."

"You should be healing yourself instead of wasting your healing on me. I'm not going to last much longer and you need medical attention yourself."

"Shut up, Kuchiki-taichou, I'm not going to let you die. Rukia would kill me if you died and I can hang on until they dig us out. My legs are broken and I haven't learned enough of the higher kidou to fix that kind of problem. My hollow powers will heal some of that for me so your problems are more important right now."

What Ichigo was failing to tell Byakuya was that the hollow healing required reiatsu too and he was using his reiatsu on Byakuya so his healing would have to wait for the Division Four medics. They began to hear sounds of digging. But suddenly Byakuya's breathing began to become labored again. Ichigo knew that his reiatsu was rapidly being used up. He prayed that the rescuers had brought the medics who could take over the healing when they broke through. Ichigo began to hallucinate but still kept up the healing. He thought he saw faces just before he blacked out.

Ichigo drifted in and out of nightmares. Aizen was alive again and was winning the fight. This was followed by dreams of his fights with Kariya, Zaraki and Byakuya. Finally he thought he saw a white light and heard voices.

"Ichigo-kun, Ichigo-kun can you hear me."

Ichigo recognized the voice. "Hanataro, what are you doing here in my dream?"

"You aren't dreaming Ichigo-kun."

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes and quickly closed them again because of the blinding light. He heard Hanataro calling, "Unohana-taichou, Ichigo-kun is awake."

Ichigo heard another person approach and assumed it was Unohana-taichou. He finally managed to open his eyes. "It's good to have you back Ichigo-kun. You've been unconscious for three days now. We healed your sword wounds, but it took us some time to heal your legs. You will have to have some rehabilitation once the casts come off to regain your mobility. However, you should not suffer any permanent damage. You were very lucky. If your legs had sustained any more damage we would have had to amputate them."

Ichigo suddenly remembered, "What about Kuchiki-taichou? How is he?"

"Don't get excited Ichigo-kun, he will be just fine. However, if you hadn't provided the kidou life support he would have died. You did cut it very fine. You had used up almost all of your reiatsu and in your condition you might have died. They got to you both just in time."

"I owe that to you and Hanataro. If you hadn't taught me how to control my reiatsu and measure out exactly how much reiatsu to use I might have used it up too quickly and failed to keep Byakuya alive. Also if Hanataro hadn't taught me basic medical kidou I wouldn't have been able to keep Byakuya alive until we were rescued. That was truly a trial by fire."

Unohana said, "You certainly succeeded beautifully. You are ready to learn advanced medical kidou and you could certainly join Division Four anytime you wanted, Ichigo-kun. You would be an asset to us."

Rukia and Byakuya appeared in the doorway. Rukia swiftly reached Ichigo's bed and grabbed his hand. "Idiot, don't ever do that to me again. I was afraid that you and Nii-sama were dead and then you didn't wake up for three days."

Ichigo said, "I'm going to be alright Rukia. You don't need to worry about me. I will just need some physical therapy when the casts come off. Otherwise I'm fine. How are Ukitake and Asama Ryushui?"

Byakuya said, "Ukitake is resting but it was just his tuberculosis that brought on the attack. He should recover quickly won't he Unohana-taichou?"

"Yes he will be fine with rest."

"As for your question about Asama Ryushui. He disgraced himself by putting Rukia's life in danger when he tried to use her as a shield. The Kuchiki elders were furious and turned down his suit. I have decided however to approve another suit for Rukia's hand in marriage provided certain conditions are met."

"Nii-sama you never said that another clan had made an offer."

"Rukia let me finish. I will approve your suit Kurosaki-san provided certain requirements are met. You will need to finish your Academy classes and your special classes with other experts. Second that you successfully complete your rehabilitation because you will need to have full use of your legs when you do your captain's test. If you pass the Sou-taichou has agreed to give you command of the Fifth Division. This should give you enough prestige to convince the Kuchiki elders to accept your suit despite the fact that you are not a noble."

Suddenly another voice chimed in from the doorway. "There is no need for that Byakuya-kun."

They all looked at the person in the doorway in disbelief. There was Isshin in his shihaukushou with the badge of a noble house.

Byakuya was shocked, "Kanto Isshin-sama I thought you had died."

"Nope, I disappeared in the real world because I fell in love with Ichigo's mother, Masaki Kurosaki. I took her last name so that no one could find me. I also bought an untraceable gigai from Urahara Kisuke again so my family couldn't find me because I didn't want to marry the bride they had picked out for me."

"What are you doing back here in the Soul Society?" asked Ichigo his anger growing.

"My uncle who was the Kanto clan leader just passed away without fathering an heir. That would have made me the clan leader, but I was disowned when I fled to the real world. They could reinstate me but I don't want to leave my medical practice. That my dear son means that you are the rightful heir and will be the next Kanto clan leader once all of the paperwork is done."

Byakuya recovered from the shock and said, "If that is so then the Kuchiki clan elders should have no trouble at all accepting the suit of the Kanto clan leader since your clan is one of the four noble houses."

Isshin grinned, "What he is trying to say is that our family outranks the Kuchiki clan."

Ichigo growled, "Dad, why haven't you ever told us this especially when you finally admitted that you were a shinigami? When I get these casts off I am so going to kill you."

Isshin laughed, "You can try my son, but I still have some tricks I have never taught you that will come in handy if you decide to kill me."

Everyone laughed and eventually even Ichigo joined in. Ichigo said, "Well then I guess the quicker I get out here the quicker I can meet your conditions Kuchiki-taichou."

Isshin started crying, "Just think, Ichigo will have a new brother-in-law and I will have another son."

He turned toward Byakuya and looked like he was going to glomp him when Byakuya turned his frosty Kuchiki glare on him and said, "Kanto Isshin, if make one move in my direction I will use my bankai on you."

Isshin stopped and pulled out a picture of Masaki and said, "Masaki our new son is just as mean as our old son."

With that Unohana shooed everyone but Rukia out. She tenderly ran her fingers through Ichigo's hair pushing back the strands which had fallen into place. She gave him an affectionate kiss and then said, "See I told you everything would work out."

Ichigo said, "I'm glad because I was coming so close to throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you off. Seriously, I love you and I am thrilled that we will be able to finally be together as a couple." The rest of what he would have said was smothered as Rukia kissed him passionately.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**JM: This is the end of Keeping Cupid Busy. Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it. The series will continue with Get Me To The Church On Time! Ichigo is having a bad day fighting off hollows and cars that won't start. Will he make it to his wedding on time or will Byakuya use Senbonsakura on him? **

**As always I welcome constructive criticism, but flaming is a waste of your time and mine.**


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